Pencil clasp



March 14, 1950 G. L'HEUREUX 2,500,367

PENCIL CLASP Filed March 9, 1945 INVENTDR GILBEHT LHEUREUX M ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1950 UNITED STATESPTENT OFFiCE PENCIL CLASP Gilbert LHeurcux, Oberwil-Basel, Switzeflan Application March 9, 1945, Serial No. 581,757

In Switzefland September 4, 1944 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-11) The present invention relates to a safety clip for writing instruments.

An objection raised against the commonly known clips for writing instruments, say a fountain pen, is that they lose their resiliency aftcr frequent use and consequently become practiaafly useless. Also they do not oer anyprotection against theft. v

Several suggestions have been brought forward for providing, e. g. a fountain pen, with a safety device in order to obviate this shortcomng. One of them consisted in the creation of a clamping lever collapsble over a springy tipping point, having at its free end a rectangularly bent gripping member (or point) which stuck into the cloth when the lever Was in its clipping position, while another type provided a plain spring-urged lever with an indentation. In both cases the lever has to be moved at first by hand to release the dents or points from the cloth before the pen could be taken out of the pocket. To do these manipulations in a single hand grip required a certain skill, as the pen had to be grasped by two fingers and the catching member to be disabled by a third. Other well known devices to whose clamping arm a lever fitted with clipping boss is hinged are subject to the same disadvantage.

The present invention has for its objeet to create a safety device on writing instruments, such as pencils, pens or similar articles for preventing them from falling out of the pocket, by means of which, when grasping the device by two fingers of one hand the catching device is released and the pen can conveniently be taken out of the pocket in a single handy grip.

According to the invention I attain this objeot by providng, say a fountain pen, with a device having a resilient clip (or holder) and a twoarmed safety lever jointed pivotalIy thereto and bearing at its free lower end a catchng or gripping member, whereby, for taking the pen out of the pocket, it need only be grasped by two fingers of one hand, as the upper lever arm of the safety lever is pressed against the axis of the fountain pen and thus swung into its opening position.

Preferably, however, the resilient clip and the safety lever are shaped in such a way that the latter forms in appearanoe a whole with the former when closed, the surfaces of both parts lying flush With each other.

In the accompamying drawing there is shown for purposes of illustration a preferred embodiment et the invention applied to a fountain pen.

Fig. 1 represents a fountain pen with the Saet-y device, when being taken out of the pocket;

Fig. 2 is a lateral view of the fountain-pen With the device in its seouring position;

Fig, 3 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevatiomal view of a guiding 5 clip;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the Clip shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a front elevat0nal view of the clip shown in Fig. 4;

lever shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of the safety lever shown in Fig. 7.

In its essentials the illustrated device comprises two parts, viz, the guiding clip I and the two-armed safety lever 2. The clip l possesses a fastening ring 3 mounted in the usual way between the parts of the bipartite cap of the pen. Further, it is provided With a longitudinal recess or slot and is reduced at its upper part 5. Numeral 5 denotes a bore for taking up an axis, and 7 designates a lug constituting the abutment for a spring. The safety lever 2 has a lower narrow arm 8 fitting into the recess l and bearing at its free and a steel point 9. The upper end portion of the two-armed safety lever 2 is composed of two side walls and a front wall, the latter being opposite to and spaced from lug 1, to complete a hood il! Which is provided with a transverse bore for receivng a pintle. The transverse bore il forming the fulcrum of the two-armed lever 2 permits the mounting of a pintle i3 in conformable position with the bore 6. The hood i bouses a compression spring 12 through which the upper lever arm ll of the safet lever 2 is supported against the lug 7 and by reason of Which the safety lever tends at all times to resume its closing position. The hollow space in the hood Il! accommodating the compression sprzmg :2 is closed by the upper portion 5 of the clip, while the recess 4 of the clip I is filled up by the lower arm 8 of the safety lever in its closed position. The parts I and 2 engage each other in such a manner that their surfaces lies absoluce1y flush with each other so as to be in appearan a well unitary whole. The safety lever 2 is oscillatably mounted on the clip l about the pintle [3 and, by pressure applied against its upper portion the lever can be rocked into its releasng position against the action of spring I2.

In the closed position of the device the steel point 9 grips into the cloth of the pooket, thus practically eliminating all risks of falling out or being stolen. The devise enables the simultaneous disengagement and removal of the fountainpen at a handy grip, i. e. by two fingers of the same hand as shown in Fig. 1. When taking the instrument out of the pocket the upper portion of the safety lever is pressed against the axis of the fountain pen opening the securing means.

It will be understood that the embodiment hereinbefore described about the safety device for writing instruments has been given only by way of example and that the details thereof may be modified without departing beyond the scope of the invention and set forth in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a pencil clasp, a safety clip consisting of a lower S-shaped resilient part and an upper part having a smaller width than said lower part, thereby providing the side contours of said clip with opposite steps, said clip having a longitudinal slt extending throughout a major portion of said lower part and, partly, into said upper part, said upper part having a transversal bore adapted to accommodate a pintle, a lug near the top of said upper part to provide a seat for a coil Spring, and an element integral With said upper part for fstning said clip to a pencil, a safety lever operably connected to said clip and m0vabla betWeen a rest position and an open position, comprising an upper end portion including a fr0nt Wall and two side walls, said front wall opposite and spaced from said lug to complete a hood, said side walls adjacent said upper part of said clip receiving the same therebetween, each side wall having an aperture in alignment With said bore, a longitudinal arm connected to said upper and portion and extending downwardly, said arm profiled in S-shape form similar to said slot of said clip and normally disposed substantially throughout its length within said slot in a rest position, for normally providing said clasp with a flush frontal surface, and a pin carried by said arm and protruding therefrom, a pintle carried in said bore and protruding laterally thereirom through said aligned aperture of said side walls for pivoting said safety lever to said clip; and a coil spring in said chambrer bearing against said lug of said clip and against said front wall of said lever for resiliently maintaining said lever in its rest position.

GILBERI LHEUREUX.

REFERENCES CITE!) The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,122,149 Nugent Dec. 22, 1914 1,356,204, Guzclar Oct. 19, 19.20 1,404,863 Klenck Jan. 31, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Numlcer Country Date 617,901 France Nov. 30, 1926 

